2026 BIGSEE Perspectives Award Recieved!

Portorož sits at the edge of things. Geographically it belongs to Slovenia, but had definitely has the air of the Balkans. I was surprised to find čevapi and börek there, served casually, as if nobody thought it remarkable. Western Europeans might not see it this way, but standing on that Adriatic coast I felt the Balkans breathing quietly beneath the European surface.

I was there for BigSEE 2026, a festival gathering over three thousand architects and designers from across Southeast Europe and beyond.

I presented three student projects - the Arplin Ecovillage, a steel-concrete residential complex, and the Kadıköy Opera House. It felt good to represent Turkey there, to be one voice from Istanbul in a conversation about what contemporary architecture in this region can mean.

I am grateful to Professor Rüksan Tuna, who nominated me and made this possible. Some doors open through talent. Most open through someone who believed in you first.